Morning Gift
by UltimateC3
Summary: Today is Nico Robin's birthday; a special day for the Straw Hat pirates, but Zoro can't decide whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. Happy birthday, Robin! Festive One-Shot.


**A/N:** Happy birthday Robin! I felt guilty for not doing anything to celebrate, so I flung this together last night. There's really no point to it, but hopefully you enjoy it.

I do not own One Piece.

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The Thousand Sunny sailed smoothly along its path through the New World. The Straw Hat pirates had entered the New World, quickly regaining their ground from before their separation. Their return had been announced and they were the most well-known pirates on the move. This however, did not seem to faze them, as they knew the importance of the upcoming day. It was the birthday of one of their precious nakama.

Nico Robin.

Chopper awoke from his hammock in the men's quarters, lazily opening his sleepy eyes. It was as dark as it was when he went to bed and the rest of his male companions were sound asleep. He yawned and stretched, peering out the cabin's small window to see a dark, but lightening sky.

"Must be pretty early…" the reindeer mumbled to himself. Normally he'd fall right back to sleep, not wanting to get up until sunrise, but something told him he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. Remembering Zoro was on watch, Chopper decided he would get up and go spend his morning with the swordsman. He enjoyed the green-haired man's company, whether they were doing something productive or not. Zoro always seemed to know what was going on and how to handle it, giving Chopper a large sense of security.

Gently rolling out of his small hammock, Chopper placed his hooves on the wood floor and grabbed his hat from a nearby table. He put his most prized possession on his head and quietly made his way towards the door, hoping his constant pattering of his feet didn't wake anyone up. He opened the door slowly, making sure it didn't creak, and stepped outside. The sky was light and dark at the same time, as if it were resisting to awaken like a young child not wanting to get out of bed. It was clear though, and hundreds of faded stars could still be seen. Chopper rubbed his nose and gently closed the door behind him. He walked across the balcony towards the steps leading down to the deck, intent on climbing up to the crow's nest. He was clearly surprised when he saw the first mate standing against the mast, looking out to sea.

"Zoro…?" Chopper asked aloud, tilting his head at the man before descending down the stairs. "What are you doing down here?"

"I just finished training and thought I'd take a break… What are you doing up so early? Hasn't even hit sunrise yet."

"I don't know… I just woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I wanted to come see you," the reindeer walked up to the swordsman and looked at his passive expression.

"Well, guess there's only one thing to do," Zoro said as he lowered himself to the grassy deck, leaning his back against the mast. "Guess we'll just have to wait until the others wake up…"

Chopper nodded and climbed up the man's arm and up onto his mossy green head, as if it was perfectly natural. Zoro frowned, but he wouldn't deprive his reindeer friend of his comfort even if it was ridiculous to him.

"Gonna be a pretty boring day…" Zoro mumbled lazily, "Not that I'm complaining…"

"Today's not gonna be boring, Zoro! Don't you know what day it is?" By the way Chopper had asked, it seemed to be extremely important. Zoro scratched his chin in thought.

"Uhh… Tuesday…?"

"No! It's Thursday! And besides, that's not even the point," Chopper yelled at him from atop his head. Zoro cringed at the reindeer's high-pitched voice.

"Well, why don't you get to the point?"

"It's Robin's birthday!"

Robin's birthday? Shit…

That's right, he'd forgotten. Actually, he knew about it all week but tried to erase it out of his mind. He doubted she would even care if he forgot, but even he knew little, insignificant things were important to share among nakama. Chopper was smiling, clearly happy.

"I can't wait to see her!"

Zoro couldn't help but chuckle his friend's excited attitude. That being said, he certainly _could_ wait to see Robin. The crew had grudgingly agreed, much to Robin's delight, not to fuss over presents, given the fact that they were in the New World and 'presents' were rare to come by. But instead, Zoro had done something incredibly stupid, something he had been regretting for the past week.

He had gotten her a present.

He had no idea why, but he got her a present. It was there and he took it, heaven knows why… He was still debating on whether to give it to her or not, but he had been mentally battling himself about it ever since. The others all had happy and bright personalities, so cheering 'happy birthday' to Robin was like a normal thing, but he certainly wasn't like them. Saying happy birthday to the woman was awkward enough for him and now he had to say that _and_ give her a ridiculous present.

And he was the only one who would do that…

"I know we all said not to get her any presents," Chopper smiled to himself proudly, "But I got her one anyway..."

"_Phew…_ Guess I'm not the only one…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I can't wait to see the look on her face! She's gonna be so happy!" Chopper was practically bouncing on top of Zoro's head, who was too busy thinking to realize.

They had been together for almost two months since their two year separation and everyone was as happy as ever. The bonds between his nakama grew ever stronger and, not that he'd ever admit it, his strange bond with Nico Robin had grown as well. He enjoyed her calming presence, considering she was the only one on the ship, other than himself, who never acted like an idiot. Although he enjoyed her company, he couldn't fight off the strange feelings he got regarding their connection.

She was by far the most confusing woman he had ever met.

"So what did you get her?" Zoro asked, mildly curious.

"I got her a history book and a mystery novel!"

"Where did you get books?"

"After our fight at Fishman Island, I found them in a library and they said I could take them. I was gonna show the library to Robin, but we didn't have enough time…" Zoro mumbled in response. He had also gotten his gift at Fishman Island, but not in a library. He was too ashamed to even think about where he got it.

"I'm sure she'll like them," he comforted the reindeer. Chopper smiled.

"Yeah, you're right. Robin likes everything. She's great, isn't she Zoro?" The green-haired man frowned, not knowing why Chopper had to ask such a dumb question.

"Uhh… Yeah… I guess…"

"You guess? Is that it, Zoro-san?"

Both Zoro and Chopper whipped their head around at the speed of sound, meeting the gaze of their archaeologist on the top of the stairs. She slowly walked down as her purple slippers hit each step gracefully, like a swan treading on water. Her long, black hair swayed in the breeze behind her, matching her black pants, and her purple V-neck sweater clung tightly to her smooth body. She smiled at the two.

"Robin!" Chopper exclaimed at the woman, who chuckled at his reaction.

"Good morning, Chopper," She greeted. His eyes seemed to sparkle at her entrance, and she could only laugh at the thought of Zoro doing the same. Her eyes peacefully made their way down to the man in question, his face as stoic as ever.

"Good morning, Zoro-san…"

"Mornin'…"

"Happy birthday, Robin!" Chopper sang as he shot off of Zoro's head and into Robin's arms. The reindeer hugged the raven-haired woman who smiled and returned his small embrace.

"Thank you Chopper, you don't know how much that means to me." Zoro's eyebrows rose and his face softened for a split second, before he regained his composure. The reindeer's point of view looked down at the swordsman with a hidden smile played across her lips. Zoro felt the strange feeling return inside him.

"Zoro-san… Don't you have something to say to me?"

Damn it… He knew that was coming…

"Happy birthday…"

Zoro grunted as he stood up from the ground onto his feet. She continued to look at him. All he did was shrug.

"You know I'm not good at this stuff, Robin…"

"I know, but I know you mean it, so thank you…" She smiled, and Zoro's body immediately tensed.

"Uhh… You're welcome…" He scratched the back of his head, "What are you doing up so early, anyway?"

"I simply woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured I'd get some fresh air, and here we are…"

Why the hell couldn't anyone fall back to sleep? Something strange was going on, but Zoro dismissed it regardless.

"That's what happened to me too, Robin!"

Robin chuckled, "Not the best way to start out my birthday, but oh well…"

"Well, if you dislike me that much, then why don't you go back inside?" The swordsman told her sarcastically. Robin's eyes widened in confusion, before she understood what he meant and brought a hand up to cover her laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry Zoro-san. I didn't mean it that way…" She apologized and walked over next to him with Chopper. The reindeer jumped back onto Zoro's head, ignoring the pissed off grunts that followed.

"Yeah Zoro, stop being so sensitive!" Chopper scolded.

"Wha-? I was just joking, sheesh… Why the hell are you siding with her anyway…?"

Robin looked at him expectantly, "Whose birthday is it, Zoro-san?"

"Ohh…forget it…" He sighed. Chopper and Robin looked at each other and laughed at the green-haired man's expense. He incoherently grunted to himself.

'_A man of my stature should not be teased like this!'_

"Hey, Robin…" Chopper stopped giggling and looked at the raven-haired beauty, "I have a surprise for you in the library, so make sure you stop by later!"

"Oh, a surprise? That sounds quite tempting. I believe I'll have to check it soon..." She smiled at the reindeer who yawned in return. "You should really try to get some more sleep, Chopper-san. You look very tired."

Zoro didn't exactly like how Robin was having a conversation with his head. He felt like throwing the reindeer off and punting him inside, but he was in a rather peaceful mood, so he didn't.

"I'm fine…" Chopper yawned again in between his words, "I think the weather is just making me sleepy…"

"If you're sure…" Robin lowered her gaze mere inches to Zoro's face, "I'm surprised to see you down here Zoro-san… Weren't you up in your gym?"

"I was, but I just finished, so I decided to come down here and take a break until…_you two_ showed up," he mockingly frowned at her and the animal atop his head. Robin couldn't help but chuckle. The man was so irritable, but she liked it. He didn't get offensive or rude; he just got sarcastic and slightly annoyed. It seemed Robin was always able to change his attitude.

"Do _you _have a surprise for me, Zoro-san?" Robin asked, moving her face closer to his with a sly smile dancing across her wondrous lips. Zoro wasn't sure whether he was embarrassed by her question, or by the fact that he _did_ have a surprise for her.

"Uhh… I uh…" he stumbled over his words, a faint shade of red tinting his cheeks. This woman was too much for him, but he didn't know why. Luckily, he was interrupted by the sound of soft snoring. He looked at Robin, who looked straight back at him before looking up at the sleeping reindeer atop his green head. Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to relieve stress and Robin could only laugh softly.

"It looks like he fell asleep in a tree… Fufufufu…"

If her joke didn't put him to shame, he probably would have laughed at it. He looked at her laughing figure. Was she always this playful in the morning? At least he got out of that mess…

"I apologize, Zoro-san. I don't mean to make fun of you…"

"If I thought you were deliberately making fun of me all these years, I probably would have done something about it already."

"Oh really? So you don't mind, I presume?"

"No! I do mind! You're just lucky I'm an easy going guy…"

"Fufufu… I suppose I am," she looked at him lazily. She seemed much more laid back than she usually was, but Zoro reasoned it was because she hadn't had her coffee yet. He looked at the ground awkwardly, wishing Chopper would wake up and cut off the silence. He didn't mind silence, but when it was him and Robin alone, it was…weird. Not because she was weird, but because she was the only one on this ship who he couldn't handle alone.

"I really am curious as to what Chopper's surprise is…" she thought out loud, trying to get his attention. "Did you have any part in it?"

"No… I didn't…"

"Hmm… That's a shame…"

Zoro couldn't take it anymore. It was like she knew he was hiding her gift. He had no idea how, since he wasn't even _supposed_ to get her one, but she was clearly leading onto something. Maybe she just wanted to know if he did have a gift for her, but either way Zoro couldn't take it. His left hand dove into his robe and came out with a small, flat box. Sighing, he handed it to Robin.

Her eyebrows rose and her eyes widened, clearly confused by the swordsman's action. She looked at the box and then up at Zoro's emotionless face.

"Here. Happy birthday, Robin…" he mumbled nonchalantly, but he was mentally punching himself on the inside. Her look of surprise was still present as she gently took the box in her hands.

"Thank you, Zoro-san, but I thought we agreed not to exchange gifts…?"

"So did I, but I found this, and I'm sure you'd make more use out of it than I would," he shrugged, trying to blow it off as much as he could. "Don't ask me why I took it, 'cause I don't even know myself…"

Her slim fingers glided over the smooth box before lifting the lid off. If she was surprised before, it didn't compare to what she was now. Zoro felt like punching himself.

Inside the box was a silver bracelet with purple gemstones, the light from the faint stars shining off every angle. Robin gently pulled it out of the box, staring at it with wide eyes. It was beautiful, in her opinion, and it matched her sweater and slippers, not like that really mattered. She looked back at the swordsman, her face uncharacteristically stunned.

"You gonna put it on or what? It goes on your wrist."

She nodded at him and slid it effortlessly up her wrist, fitting perfectly around her lower arm. She twisted her arm around, taking in every angle of the bracelet, before showing it off to her giver.

"How does it look?" Zoro looked at the bracelet, knowing Robin was serious. It looked damn good to him, especially on her, but he downplayed it as usual.

"Looks fine to me…"

Robin's eyes were still opened wide, "Thank you, Zoro. I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything. It's your birthday, and it's just a stupid little gift…" he shrugged casually like it was no big deal. Robin begged to differ. She took a step towards him, all she needed to end up right in front of him, and gracefully planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

With that, she took Chopper off his head and headed into the library without another word, leaving the baffled swordsman completely stunned. He placed his finger on his hot face where her soft lips landed and looked out to sea.

Maybe celebrating someone's birthday wasn't such a bad thing after all…

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**A/N:** Awww... Wasn't that adorably pointless? Whatever... I'm glad I was able to write something about Robin's birthday and share it.

Thanks for reading! Remember, a review for this story is a 'happy birthday' for Robin! :)


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